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Guillermo J. Senmartin, Esq., Immigration Lawyer

Category: Immigration Law

Satisfied Customers: 99340

Experience: 10+ years of experience in various aspects of U.S. Immigration Law.

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My mother´s grandfather was a US citizen. Became a US citizen

Customer Question

My mother´s grandfather was a US citizen. Became a US citizen in 1922 (don't know if it was because he had US citizen relatives or that he just naturalized) He was a seaman and travelled a lot to the US and He lived in the US for a while as well, but we do not know for how long. It's not known if my mother's father had the nationality as well. My mother's father was born in 1925. Is there a possiblity that my mother can obtain the US citizenship via her grandfather? or father? (My mother's grandfather and father both passed away)

Hello.Thank you for using our service.All I ask is that before you sign off, you rate me positively.If you are inclined to use the "poor service" or "bad service" options, please ask follow-up questions first and give me a chance.Sometimes the law doesn't have a good solution, but I will try hard to find it if it is available.

In order for her father to have passed on U.S. Citizenship to her, he would have had to have been a U.S. Citizen AND have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years BEFORE she was born AND 5 of those years had to have been after he turned 14.

If he was not a U.S. Citizen and ONLY if he was not a U.S. Citizen, then it may be possible to use the doctrine of double constructive retention to use her grandfather's time in the U.S. to qualify. IF her father was a U.S. Citizen, then she will not be able to use her grandfather's time. So she has to prove that he was a U.S. Citizen AND had the time in the U.S. before she was born OR she has to prove that he was not a U.S. Citizen and she can try to use her grandfather's time.

Now here is the bad news for you. If you are hoping to get U.S. Citizenship yourself, if your mother has to use her grandfather's time, then you are out of luck. There is no triple contructive retention. So that will not work for you. She would have to petition for you to get Lawful Permanent Residency and then you would later apply for U.S. Citizenship on your own. IF she is able to use her father instead of her grandfather, then you might be able to get U.S. Citizenship through her father's physical presence in the U.S. IF he meets those requirements.

Please let me know if you have additional questions and please do not forget to rate my service to you (not the state of the law) as that is the only way that I can get credit for my assistance.Even after you rate the service, I can still answer additional questions for you without additional charge.If you do rate me positively, a bonus is always appreciated. If you would like to request me in the future, just go to http://www.justanswer.com/law/expert-guillermosenmartin/. Thank you!

Ok I understand. Now there is something I saw online that the immigration law until 1934 stated that children of a US citizen born outside of the USA will automatically gain the status of US citizen. is this correct? because my mother's father was born and lived his whole life in Curacao. And he was born in 1925 which is before 1934. But he had the Dutch nationality I suppose. Or could he have had double nationality?

And did he have to apply for it or was he automatically a US citizen at birth? because we are pretty sure that my mother's father never applied for any passport or citizenship.

Let's say that my mother's father was not a US citizen and that she uses the doctrine of double constructive retention like you said. How great are the chances for my mother to obtain the US citizenship

And last question. My mother has the Dutch nationality. If she obtains the US nationality, is it possible for her to have double nationality then. or just one of them?

Yes, it is correct and if you look at the chart that I gave you on the 4th page, you can verify that. But her father would have had to take steps to claim the U.S. Citizenship. If he did not take those steps, then your mother can use your grandfather's time in the U.S. This would actually help your mother. But it will not help you. And since it seems that her father never lived in the U.S., IF she were to prove that he did take steps to claim his U.S. Citizenship and was actually a dual national (which is legal), then both her and you would have no chance. But if it is like it seems to be, that he never claimed his U.S. Citizenship, then your mother would have a chance for automatic U.S. Citizenship. You would not. But after your mother gets it, then she may be able to apply for you to get Lawful Permanent Residency and then years later you can apply for U.S. Citizenship.

As far as her chances to use double contructive retention, she has to prove that her father did not exercise his claim to U.S. Citizenship and that her grandfather lived in the U.S. for 10 years before she was born and that at least 5 of those years were after he had turned 14. It seems to me that if her father was born in 1925 and her grandfather got U.S. Citizenship in 1922, her grandfather probably moved to Curacao and never went back to the U.S. to live. If that is the case, then there is no way that your mother could get U.S. Citizenship. I am truly sorry.

And finally, yes, IF your mother can obtain U.S. Citizenship, the U.S. recognizes dual nationality.

Please let me know if you have additional questions and please do not forget to rate my service to you (not the state of the law) as that is the only way that I can get credit for my assistance. Even after you rate the service, I can still answer additional questions for you without additional charge. And don't forget that bonuses are always appreciated! Thank you.

Hello. It looks like you are seeing my responses but you are not responding. Are you having technical difficulties? I want to make sure that you are satisfied with my responses and have a positive experience with the website and with my service. So please let me know if there is anything else that I can answer for you because I will do my best. Thank you!

Actually my mother´s grandfather was a seaman and travelled between Curacao and New York, but in the documents we found of Ellis island it states that he was a resident of New york since 1924. (We know that he had family there, but we dont know the relation of the family members to him)The last document we found of him in New York was in 1937. arriving at the port of New York. So he might have been officially registered as a resident in New York all this time which is 13 years although he travelled back and fort between Curacao and New York right? He was born in 1891 so all this happened after he turned 14.My question is how should my mother start her steps towards the US citizenship. I assume you should hire a lawyer. Do you do these cases as well? Or do you know a good lawyer who is specialized in these cases who could start the case?And what documents do you recommend her to start looking for before going to a lawyer?What is the average amount of months or years that the whole process will take to get the citizenship?

Ok. Please do not forget to rate me positively. You can do that now and I can still answer questions for you without additional charge. Your question does not close and I will not abandon you.

What counts, unfortunately, is not that he is listed as residing in New York. What counts is that your mother has to prove physical presence in the U.S. for a certain amount of time. And yes, it counts all his short trips to the U.S., but she has to prove each time he entered and each time he left. She can use school records, tax records, employment records, etc. It's going to be a very difficult task. Not impossible, but very difficult.

I am not allowed to represent customers of this website, but you can look for an attorney at www.ailalawyer.com.

Also, keep in mind that the time that he has to prove that he resided in the U.S. is AFTER he became a U.S. Citizen, so after 1922, not before.

IF she can collect the correct evidence, it can take about 6 months to a year to process the case and verify everything.

I have to log off now, but I will be back later. Please do not forget to rate me positively. Since I am not paid a salary, it is the only way that I get paid. You are not charged again and I will not abandon you after you rate me positively if you have additional questions. Thank you.

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

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